Into The Fire
by Princess Tyler Briefs
Summary: What was supposed to be a simple exercise in teamwork quickly deteriorates into a brother’s worst nightmare as two turtles must remember they can rely on each other. Post-2007 CGI Movie, Raph and Don Centric .
1. Chapter 1: Leo

**A/N:** Raph and Donnie need to still work out some issues, I think, and this seemed like this would be the way Splinter would make them do it. Don't you all agree?

In addition, Leo's assessment of Mario Galaxy (which is what Mikey is playing, by the way) is completely accurate. It's pointless and yet…you can't help watching.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing here, and am making no profit off it of any kind.

**Summary:** What was supposed to be a simple exercise in teamwork quickly deteriorates into a brother's worst nightmare as two turtles must remember they can rely on each other. [Post-2007 CGI Movie, Raph and Don Centric.

_**Into The Fire  
**__**By: PTB**_

_Chapter 1_

Leo could not possibly understand why he was still awake or—better yet—why he was even still sitting there, watching the funny little Italian plumber man in a red and blue jump suite rocket around at impossible angles and defy every law of gravity he understood, and even those he didn't. It wasn't like it was all that exciting, and yet he simply couldn't bring himself to pull his eyes away. "How long have you been playing this for, Mikey?"

"Today," the orange-clad Ninja grinned as he titled the controller that was strapped to his wrist to the side, making the little character turn with him, "or just in general?"

The older turtle watched in amazement as the game system, he thought it was called a Wii, responded to the movement of Mikey's wrist, "in general."

"About twenty three hours, dude, and still counting."

"All getting those little stars?"

"Yep."

"That can't be healthy."

"Stars make the world sparkle, Leo," Mikey laughed, narrowly avoiding falling off the edge of the couch as he leaned forward, "of course they're healthy."

Not for the first time, the eldest terrapin questioned what exactly had possessed him to think that leaving Michelangelo to his own devices had been a good one. In this universe or any other one that ever existed. "Dare I ask what the object of this game could possibly be?"

"Gather all the stars and fly to the center of the galaxy to rescue Princess Peach of course! What other object could a Mario game possibly have?" The younger turtle turned his head to grin at his older brother. "He's only been saving his one true love since, like, the beginning of time!"

"Sounds like a pain," Leo couldn't help but smile, folding his arms across his chest plate. "He should teach her some self defense or something."

Mikey out and out snickered at that, nearly missing his jump as he did so but somehow recovering at the last minute. "That would make it a VERY different game, bro. Maybe we should send that to Nintendo…"

Leo shook his head, not entirely sure how serious Mikey was being, and prepared to question his little brother further when some noise coming from the far side of the lair caught his attention. The blue-banded turtle pulled himself up from where he had been lying on the couch into a kneeling position, facing the back of the couch. "What is that?"

His younger brother paused the game, momentarily halting the music of his battle so he could listen to the muffled voices. He made a face before starting to play again, "there they go again."

The older turtle shot his brother a confused look, but didn't have to ask who he meant when 'they' excited Donatello's lab with the resounding crash of the door against the wall.

"I'm done talking about it, Don," Raph growled over his shoulder as he dropped down into the main room.

"Yeah, well, I'm not," unlike his more hot-headed brother, the paler turtle chose to take the stairs down, though he stopped halfway. "This childish behavior is going to stop. Now. And you're going to start listening to me."

Raph turned, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "you ain't got no right to tell me what to do, Donnie. I only got ta follow _**one**_ leader."

"You only ever did," Donatello shot back icily," but I'm not telling you as a leader. I'm telling you out of concern. This isn't healthy!"

"You can stuff your concern, Don, I don't need your pity." The red-banded turtle turned around, heading towards the door, as his younger brother raced down the stairs after him.

Leo looked over at Mikey, who was now quite obviously trying to tune them out, with a slight frown. "Did this happen a lot when I was gone?"

"Every day, dude. Soon as Raph woke up."

He would have been lying if Leo said that Donnie and Raph had never fought before. They'd all fought with Don at some point or other, because it wasn't uncommon for them to take their frustrations out on the brother they knew could take it and wouldn't hate them for it. Even Leo had been guilty of that, sometimes, and Raph was the worst one.

But to get Donnie to raise his voice everyday? That was just unheard of. Usually, Don would just take whatever they gave him, understanding they weren't really angry with him, and barely looking away from his computer screen. Following and still yelling at Raph? New behavior to Leo.

"You can't keep doing this! You and Casey are going to get yourselves killed, you know that?" Leonardo watched, amazed, as Donnie voluntarily walked into Raph's range. He, personally, always chose to stay just out of reach when dealing with a temperamental Raphael.

More than that, however, the oldest turtle found his curiosity stirred by the apparent point of the argument. Donatello was upset with Raph and Casey's nightly outings. Leo used to hate it, too, but after the 'Winter's Incident'—as Michelangelo called it—he'd reevaluated what was worth a fight and what wasn't. He still didn't like Raph and Casey going out every night, but he knew they were careful and it helped keep the peace in their home by giving Raph something to do with his energy. Leonardo had decided that it wasn't worth the battle, but apparently Donnie disagreed.

With another frown, Leo leaned back to talk to Mikey again. "This happened every day while I was gone?"

"Well…not at first." Mike paused the game again, obviously resigning himself to helping Leo understand as he put down the controller and joined his older brother in kneeling backwards on the couch. "But Donnie wasn't you, dude. He couldn't be leader and brother at the same time. Eventually, he gave up the former, 'cause Raph wasn't listening anyway."

Wasn't totally illogical, although a bit unlike the stubborn Donnie that Leo knew. Once Don had gotten an idea into his head, it wasn't like him to let it go until he'd figured out how to make it work. That's what made him such a good scientist and strategist.

And having Don be leader HAD been Donnie's idea. When Leo had told his younger brother he was going to be leaving, ever the practical one, Don had immediately worked out that this would leave their little team without a leader. He'd told Leo that he didn't want Raph and Mikey to have to deal with the stress he knew came with Leo's job, because he doubted that Raph would want to and that Mikey could, and had voluntarily asked his brother to allow him to be leader in his place.

He hadn't wanted glory; he'd wanted to spare his brother's pain. In the process, he apparently more than doubled his own.

"But Raphie-boy here," Michelangelo continued, seemingly unaware of Leo's confusion, "thought that Don had given up being his brother instead. Probably because Don didn't go back to being, you know, Don. He was trying to be something that was like you and him at the same time. And trust me, dude that worked even less than leader Don."

"Obviously, Raph thinks he's still doing that," Leo mused, folding his arms on the back of the couch and resting his head on them.

"Only because he is," Mike muttered, mimicking his brother's move downward. "Used to be that Donnie would just bandage him up and not say anything. I think lecturing became too much of a habit for him. Sort of like…"

Leo shot his younger brother a dark look, which effectively cut off his sentence, and returned to observing the fight before him. He was prepared to jump in if either brother needed him, but from the sounds of it there was a lot his two younger brothers needed to work out.

The fight had continued while he and Mikey had been talking, and they both watched as Raph gave Don a hard shove. The slighter turtle took a step back to keep his balance, but didn't falter.

"It's none of ya business anyway, Don. I ain't lettin' you get away with thinkin' your better than me!"

The look on Don's face made his oldest brother's stomach give an unpleasant lurch. He recognized that look as the one his normally quiet brother got just before he exploded.

"I am not the one that insists on going out every night, putting himself in danger, as well as countless other people!" Donatello's fists were clenched now, his arms held stiffly by his side and head high as he continued, "I'm not the one who abandoned his family and teammates for his own twisted sense of justice and glory! In light of those things, I think I have a RIGHT to act better than you. Because I. Am."

"Oh boy," Mikey whispered, his voice somewhere between awe and exasperation, "now he's really done it."

Leo was vaulting over the back of the couch the same instant that Raph charged at the purple-banded turtle with a roar of rage. Donnie didn't dodge, instead planting his feet and taking the attack head on.

With a growl of frustration, the oldest turtle leaped into the fray—momentarily thankful that, for once, Raph hadn't been wearing his sai so that he wasn't going to have to deal with THAT problem—and immediately began trying to separate his two brothers. "Raph! Don! You two will get a grip, now!"

For all the good the yelling had done, Leo might as well have been asking Mario to come out of the TV and have tea with him. Raph simply threw his older brother aside, swinging his fist at Donnie's head, which the younger turtle expertly dodged.

"This has been a long time coming, dude," Mikey informed him as Leonardo hit the ground on his side. "It might be better to just let them work it out."

"The only reason that would solve anything," Leo muttered, getting to his feet and glaring at Mikey, "would be because one of them won't be living when they're done. And you only get one guess as to which one that would be. Now, get your shell over here and help me!"

Michelangelo frowned, seeming to contemplate this information, and Leo didn't wait for him as Raph let out another roar of rage—this one caused by Donnie catching a good chunk of his brother's arm with his teeth.

It wasn't something Splinter had taught them, but then Don had always been the one to fight dirty when he did get into fights.

Leo reached over and grabbed Donatello by the knot of his bandana, effectively holding his head in place, and hopefully getting his attention. "Donnie, let Raph go!"

The younger turtle didn't seem like he was going to comply, so Raphael took this opportunity to hit Don over the head with one fist. Leo was willing to bet that seeing stars had more to do with the turtle caught between him and Raph letting go than Leo's quick tug to try and move his head out of the way had.

"Raph, get a grip! Donnie…"

The blue-banded turtle once again found himself on the floor, this time caused by Donnie using him as a spring board to get the momentum to roll Raph over and land a good punch on his brother's beak.

"You're right about one thing, dude," Mikey observed in awe as he finally moved off the couch to help the stunned Leonardo to his feet again, watching as the now rolling pair knocked over a bunch of innocent chairs, "this is going to be a fight to the death."

Leo was about to comment, only too happy to point out to Mikey that this wasn't a good thing, when Splinter's door slid open. Both Leo and Mikey watched as their sensei surveyed the scene before him before calmly walking over to where the two middle turtles were still scuffling—now using the broken legs off one of the chairs as weapons.

With one swift motion, the aging rat managed to hit both the fighters over the head with his cane, stunning them both into stopping long enough to stare at him.

"Raphael. Donatello. You will tell me what this is about this instant."

As Leo and Mikey tentatively crept up to their sensei's side, neither eager to become involved in the punishment that would surely be forthcoming, both Raph and Don began speaking at once.

"Raph was being a neanderthalic prat as usual, sensei, coming back with his bike all snafued, expecting ME to fix it like some kind of robotic…"

"Don here got up on this high-and-mighty horse, thinkin' he's to good fer us, so I had ta…"

"Enough," Splinter held up his hand for silence, and the guilty parties immediately ceased their babbling. Even Leo and Mikey held their breaths unconsciously, still trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"It seems to me," their father began once more, his tone betraying nothing but his sharp eyes narrowing as he eyed both his sons up and down, "that two of my sons have forgotten what kind of behavior is expected of them."

The two bowed their heads, both studying the floor as they slowly disentangled themselves and settled, with a winces, into kneeling positions.

"Since you were small boys, I have taught you that fighting in this manner is wrong," his yellow eyes fell on the still visible teeth marks on Raphael's arm and he shot a warning look at Donatello, "and, particularly, that you are not to fight each other. Do you remember those lessons?"

"Yes, sensei," came two mutter responses, Raph's a few seconds behind Don's, almost as if they were said on autopilot.

Splinter let a breath out his nose, and Leo heard Mikey almost cackle beside him, "They are SO busted."

"It seems, my sons," the rat continued, pacing in front of the two kneeling teens—something they all knew was never a good sign, "that a few refresher courses about respect for each other and our belongings is in order."

Here he gestured toward the damaged chairs that surrounded the pair. They followed his move, and both looked almost surprised at what they had done before glancing down again.

"I will fix them, sensei," Don muttered, looking particularly sheepish.

All four turtles jumped when their master banged his walking stick against the ground. "No, Donatello, you will not! For you will not be here to do so."

This statement was met with four wide-eyed stares, and Leo was fairly certain their father had paused there on purpose specifically so that it would be impressed upon them just how terrifying he could be when he was angry. It was sadistic, really, but even with that knowledge Leonardo couldn't help that his heart skipped a few beats as the rat looked at his two brothers with narrowed eyes.

"You and Raphael are being sent out for additional teamwork training," Splinter continued after that pause, and Leo felt that he could breathe again. "You will not return until the lessons I have taught you returned to your minds."

The two turtles in question looked at each other in surprise, and their looks quickly turned to disgust as they turned back to their sensei and started protesting.

"You can't really expect me to do training with this belligerent…"

"If you think for one minute that I'll put up with braniac and his…"

"He'll KILL me, sensei!"

"You're off your rocker! I won't…."

"I will here no complaints, my sons," Splinter cut in loudly, his reserve of patience obviously starting to deplete at a rapid rate. "My mind has been made up on the matter, and you will obey, whether or not you can see the wisdom. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sensei," both Raph and Don rushed to assure him.

"You will be packed and ready to leave within an hour. Report to my room and we will discuss it from there." He turned to the two turtles who hadn't been in the middle of the ruckus, and Mikey immediately ducked behind both his brothers. "I expect you two will take advantage of this opportunity to clean up as much of this mess as you can, and perhaps learn some teamwork yourselves."

The pair briefly shared a look of confusion, and Leonardo could see Mikey was thinking the same thing he was. They weren't the two fighting, and nine times out of ten they had no problem working together. Still, if Splinter thought so…

"Of course, sensei," Leo bowed, and could just picture Mikey's reassuring grin behind him.

"You are dismissed." No sooner had he said this than his four sons scattered, two for cleaning supplies, and two to pack for the unknown that lay before them.


	2. Chapter 2: Don

**A/N:** Thanks a bunch for the positive response to Chapter 1. My thanks to all of you who reviewed, and all of you who have chosen to watch this story. All your attention means a lot to me. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I figured a short update was better than no update at all, right?

Thanks to an episode of Monk, I actually know EXACTLY what I want to do with this. Yay for random sources of inspiration!

Uh…I don't know why, but Don and Mikey strike me as twins. Probably because my twin calls me 'Don' and I call her 'Mikey' but…you know, whatever.

_**Into The Fire**_

_Chapter 2_

That, Donatello thought to himself, probably ranked among the top five stupidest things he'd ever done. Probably in about the second or third spot. Nothing yet topped asking Leo to allow him to be leader, although if the foreseeable future was any indication even that lapse in intelligence would soon be trumped.

The teenage genius sighed, pulling his duffle bag out from behind the desk under his lofted bed, dropping it unceremoniously onto the chair—the only even remotely flat space in his room not covered with empty food containers, parts, or half completed inventions he hadn't had time to work on lately.

"I can't believe I walked right into that," Don muttered, opening and shutting the drawers in his desk in rapid succession, looking for anything that might prove useful in…hell, he didn't even know what situation he was getting into! All because of Raph and his stupid reckless behavior. If his hot headed older brother would just listen to good advice when it was offered instead of insisting it be forced down his throat…

He shut the top drawer—his tool drawer—hard and fast, almost slamming his fingers. Taking a deep breath, Don dropped his shaking hands to his sides and started clenching and unclenching them. "Easy, Donatello, you're going to have to spend an unknown amount of time with nobody but Raph to keep you company. You can't be loosing it already."

That wasn't strictly true though; the terrapin ninja had to admit to himself as he opened his tool drawer again and dug out the Swiss Army knife he'd salvaged as a child. To be 'loosing it already' he'd have to have 'it' and he really hadn't had 'it'—if by it you meant his regular sanity and self control—for a very long time. Probably not since the first time he'd tried to be leader, chasing rumors of Foot Ninja, and almost gotten Casey killed in a mix up with some well armed Purple Dragons.

April hadn't been able to meet his eyes for weeks. That's probably what had hurt the most.

It didn't matter now, though, that was in the past. He couldn't change the past now, not without a time machine or the time scepter, and even if had either of those he probably wouldn't because he couldn't predict what affect that would have on the present time. The situation would probably be worse than it was now, knowing his record of screwing things up in the most spectacular way.

Like today, with Raph.

He'd realized, even as he opened his mouth after his first viewing of the mangled remains of the shell cycle, that whatever was going to come out was probably the last possible thing he should say. Somewhere along the way he'd lost the power he'd used to have to calm Raph down when he was upset. He hadn't just taken on Leo's mantle of leader; he'd taken on the older turtle's problems as well, including an inability to communicate with the resident firebrand turtle. Unfortunately for Donatello, those problems hadn't returned to Leo alongside his leader title.

While Leo and Raph were now getting along _**splendidly**_, Raph had exploded when Don had simple asked if he was okay. He'd demanded, furiously, if Don now thought that he couldn't take care of himself. That he couldn't handle a few untrained street thugs without the mighty Donatello there to point out how poorly he'd done it—how he could do it better.

"Could probably have saved his damn bike, anyway," Don muttered, now removing his personal well-stocked first aid kit from where it was attached under his bed. "At the very least so he'd be able to bring me back more than a tire rim and a review mirror. What does he think I am, some kind of miracle worker? That I just wave my hands and the parts appear out of thin air."

That wasn't totally fair. Raph knew how much work went into finding and repairing each and every part. His red-banded brother had probably gone on more trips topside with him than Mikey and Leo combined. They'd spent hours searching for just the right parts, both enjoying their common love for machines and making them the best they could be.

Raph had changed since then. Or maybe Don himself had. He couldn't be sure. He didn't feel like he'd changed. Yes, he'd grown up, but somebody had to or their family would have simply collapsed. He'd become strong, just like Splinter had wanted him too, and things were fine. They were fine now. Except that Raph couldn't let go of his twisted sense of justice. Couldn't move on with his life even though things should have gone back to normal now that they were all back together. He needed to learn how to let things go.

Sighing heavily, Donatello picked up his bag and headed toward the kitchen. Who knew how long they'd be gone, or where. Having access to food and clean water might be essential.

Mikey was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, obviously avoiding his task as much as possible. He gave Don a half-grin as the other turtle entered the room. "Dude, remind me about today the next time I decide I just HAVE to press that button you told me not to."

Don smiled at his twin brother, setting his duffle on the table and digging some clean water bottles to fill out of the cupboard, "would it stop you?"

"Well…I might hesitate for a tiny-itsy bit…"

The purple bandana wearing turtle snorted as he moved to the sink. "I don't think I will then. I'd actually rather forget today ever happened. It's been a nightmare that's only getting worse."

"You're telling me. I'm going to be stuck with the Master of Boring until you guys get back. I don't know if I can handle Leo all by myself!"

Don raised an eye-ridge at the other teen's complaints, not entirely sure whether or not he was joking, "it doesn't bother you that Raph was behaving like that?"

Michelangelo's mouth dropped open, and his blue eyes first widened, then narrowed in confusion. "Raph's behavior? Don, I hate to tell ya this, but you're…"

"Going to be late to meet with sensei, I know. Hand me that bag of trail mix, will you?"

If the younger of the two had been going to say something different, he didn't bother to try again, and instead tossed his twin the trail mix and a couple of granola bars that were sitting beside it, "you sure you're gonna' be okay, Don?"

"Don't worry about it, Mikey. I've survived this long with Raphael, I'm pretty sure I can manage whatever sensei throws at us one way or another."

Mike nodded, hopping off the counter and giving Don's shoulder a brief squeeze as he passed. "Just take care of yourself, okay dude? You won't have me there to watch your back, after all."

Don chuckled appreciatively, shouldering his duffle, "I promise, Mike."

Moving away from his brother, Donatello made his way toward their father's room, and was only slightly annoyed to see Raphael already leaning outside the entrance. He looked like he'd taken a shower, strapped his sai to his belt, and done nothing further to prepare for what was ahead.

He managed to suppress his eye's sudden desire to twitch, but only barely, and it was only after several deep breaths through his nose that Don decided to approach his brother, "aren't you going to pack?"

Raph raised an eye ridge in response and patted his sides, "what are you talkin' about? I AM packin'."

Grinding your teeth is a bad habit; Don reminded himself sternly and forced his jaw muscles to relax. "I mean stuff like a sleeping bag, or some food…"

"Anythin' I need, I'll find. S'long as I've got these babies, I can manage. What good is all that other stuff if ya can't protect yourself?"

He did have his bo strapped to his back, but as Raph eyed him up and down the slightly smaller turtle couldn't help but feel like he was being judged. And if the smug look that crossed Raph's face was any indication, Donatello didn't measure up to the red ninja's standards.

Growling a little in the back of his throat, he pushed his way into Raph's space, moving toward their father's door, "well, maybe a few days without nourishment will help fix that attitude problem of yours."

"MY attitude problem? I think your bandana is on too tight, _**little bro**_," Raph's emphasis on the last word made it quite clear that it was not meant as a term of endearment.

Donatello's response was cut off by their sensei's call for them to enter the room. Neither of them moved for a moment, simply staring at each other, before Don took a step back and pushed the door open, not needing to turn and see if Raph was following him.

The room was surprisingly dark, none of their sensei's usual candles burning. Don only had a moment to think about how strange that was, and that he wasn't sure where Splinter was, before he felt a sudden pain on his neck and the consciousness slid away from him.


	3. Chapter 3: Raph

**A/N:** Thanks again for all the comments guys! I'm trying something new for this story, and all the encouragement means a lot!

_**Into the Fire**  
Chapter 3_

Raph knew that he was going to loose it and ninja kick that damn bird if it didn't get the hell outta his sewer in the next twenty seconds. He probably would have done it already if he could've gotten his eyes open. As it was, he was only partially successful in the 'returning to consciousness' department.

Whatever had hit him had hit hard, and he could only hope that something hadn't been an enemy. Although, he wouldn't have been willing to bet on that. Stupid turtle luck.

And that damned bird still hadn't gone, although now it was occurring to Raph that he probably wasn't in the sewer anyway, so that might not be the bird's fault.

That's what he hated the most about being knocked unconscious. It always screwed with your head, and it was super disorienting when you were trying to wake up but things were coming at you all out of order.

Like it was only now that he was starting to realize he was lying on damp grass and the air didn't smell at all like the city.

Raph reached into his belt, removing his sai, and threw it over to where he could hear the bird. He missed it, but then he hadn't been trying to kill it. The stupid thing gave an indignant tweet and flew away with the noisy flapping of its wings.

With that distraction taken care of, the red banded turtle could now turn his attention to the rather difficult task of getting his eyelids to cooperate. After a couple of false starts, he managed to persuade all rebellious body parts that he was in charge and they were going to do what he wanted them to.

Now he knew for sure that he was in a very bright clearing in some kind of forest, but he'd already deduced that much so it wasn't helpful. It wasn't any part of a forest he recognized. Slowly he sat up, looking himself over. He wasn't chained, and had no injuries. That meant he hadn't been attacked and left to die.

That much was good.

He hauled himself up to his feet and went to retrieve his sai from under the tree a few feet away. It was completely clean, meaning he hadn't been in any kind of fight. That was interesting.

A groan behind him caught Raph's attention and he turned, sai ready to be thrown at anyone who shouldn't be there. Instead he saw Don, lying on his stomach on the ground, and obviously slowly regaining consciousness himself even though he didn't look hurt either.

There was a note lying on top of Don's bag o' tricks that was on the ground beside his brother. The teenaged terrapin ninja frowned at this new development and snatched it as Donatello started to awaken further.

"My sons," it read, "the object of this training is quite simple. Find your way home without splitting up or injuring each other. I hope that you will take the time to sort out your differences so that our family may be complete once more."

It was signed in flawless kanji by their sensei.

Raph made a face as he dropped the note back onto the bag. Right, he was here because Donnie was still too big for his britches and had picked a fight with him. Now he was going to have to spend who knows how long with the holier-than-though Leonardo replacement. Wasn't that just peachy?

"How you gonna' know if we split up anyway, sensei?" Raph questioned the note. Of course the teen couldn't really doubt that the rat would know, somehow. He always did.

The turtle did a quick rundown of himself, making sure that he hadn't been given anything extra, but there was only what he'd packed for the trip.

Okay, so maybe Donnie hadn't been totally wrong that packing something other than his sai would have been a good idea, but the brainiac didn't need to know that.

Speaking of his _oh so intelligent_ little brother…

Raphael gave the smaller turtle a none too gentle nudge with his foot, "Hey insomnia-turtle, I know you don' get much sleep, but now ain't the time to be catchin' up on it."

Donatello groaned, opening his eyes and blinking blurrily. "Raph? Where the shell are we?"

"No clue," the older turtle responded honestly, picking up the note and shoving it into Donnie's hands as he sat up. "All I know's what's written there."

The purple masked turtle scowled at him, pulling the note up to a readable level and scanning it quickly before rolling his eyes, "well, this is just perfect."

"You're tellin' me. Here I was thinkin' we were just gonna' be sent out in the sewer's for a few days."

"That was stupid. We know those sewers better than anyone. There'd be no training involved," Don rolled his eyes. "At least sensei left me—us—with the stuff I packed, so we're not totally hopeless."

Raph growled, not missing the insult to his intelligence or the jab at his lack of preparation. "Oh yes, I should thank my lucky stars I have the great and powerful Leo version 2.0 here to help me out in my time o' need."

Donnie ignored him, as per usual. Insulting him got even less reaction of him than it had Leo back in the old days, but that was fine by Raph. Because he knew as well as any of them that it was when Don was quietest that he was angriest. If he was ignoring you instead of trying to talk things out, you were really getting under his shell.

"We should probably head east first," Donatello muttered to himself, standing up and shouldering his pack. "Obviously you can't go any further east than New York City, and it's likely they didn't drop us off too far from home. So, logically, we should head east until we hit a road and figure it out from there."

"Oh, what are we gonna' do, ask the friendly kid at the gas station to give us direction to New York?" Raph scowled. Don's idea made sense, but as _usual_ he was thinkin' too much with his head. The older turtle's gut told him that sensei wouldn't make it that easy for them. "Or do ya' have some magical road reading gismo in that bag a yours?"

Don scowled at him, clutching his bag protectively, "you're just jealous that you don't have a better idea."

"Just 'cause Leo ain't here don't mean you're the leader," Raph shot back, pushing his way into Don's personal space. As expected, the slighter turtle stepped back, intimidated by his brother's greater size. A small part of Raph groaned, wishing that Donnie would show some real backbone for once and really just face him head on.

No, the fight back in the lair didn't count. Leo'd gotten in the way, and Don hadn't been playing fair anyway.

…Not that Don usually did…

"I never said it did. I'm just trying to be the rational one here. We can't just go barreling off in any random direction and hope we get lucky. We haven't got enough supplies for that."

"Which is my fault for not thinkin' to grab 'em, isn't it?"

Donnie didn't respond, but the way his eyes narrowed and his teeth sank into his bottom lip was all the answer Raph needed.

"Of course you may know better, _Donnie_, but I think we should stock up on supplies first. I may be stupid, 'o course, but even if we go your way, we don't know you're right. Could still take us a long time to get home, and we don' know how often we'll find what we need."

A scowl crossed over Donatello's face, and Raph smirked. He had him with that one. Raphael one, Donatello…probably in the negatives somewhere. Less than one, anyway.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. I brought empty containers; we'll start with finding some water and filling them, if that's okay with you, of course, Raphael. I'd hate to think I'm over stepping my bounds here."

Raph wanted to argue with that, if only to get back at him for the sarcastic tone, but could come up with nothing to say. Finding a stream was pretty obviously the first thing the should do, and a part of him was kind of glad that Don had brought along empty containers as well. Obnoxiously over-prepared of him, but still with some good points.

Instead, he settled on an indistinct grumble of "whatever" and a half-shrug. Don looked at him suspiciously, but when Raph offered nothing else, simply wrinkled his beak and set off down a small deer path that led out of the clearing. Chances were good that if they followed this long enough, they would find water.

As he watched his brother's form disappearing into the trees, Raphael couldn't help rolling his eyes before following. This was going to be a long trip.


End file.
